nole will first have to get to the final and then he can think about winning.......even someone like seppi took him to five sets last year........

i have noticed that djokovic seems to have problems with single handed backhanders........the way single handers hold their backhand to the very last second and often wrong foot him is something which is starting to worry him........

now when you couple that with his average movement on clay, i don't think roland garros is that easy to win for him........he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable moving on clay........slips a lot when he has to change direction quickly........

and then there is nadal........

haha how fitting that i wrote this post just before the djokovic-dimitrov match.......

see that's what i mean........he has problems dealing with single handlers........they throw him a mixture of slices and regular topspin shots which take away novak's rhythm on his backhand........he can't do anything but jab at those slices helplessly.........he cannot drive or attack those low slices and he is also not sure which backhand lands where on the court........a two hander opponent is a lot more predictable for him........

and then his movement.........just mediocre for clay........to me he looked a better mover on clay in 2008........to excel on hardcourts he developed this habit of sliding regularly on hardcourts and that was done at the cost of his movement on other surfaces........when you are so used to sliding on hardcourts, you will involuntarily expect the same kind of traction on other surfaces as well........and when you don't get that, you struggle to control your footing, struggle to stop and turn the other way........

these are all the problems bugging djokovic on clay and i said all this at "talk tennis" on the very day when he won montecarlo........

i have no doubt that nadal's best would easily beat djokovic's best on clay, like in 2012.......so i don't see where people get the idea that novak is the favourite for roland garros.........he is not even the second favourite if you ask me........

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

nadal is fat, unfit, unprepared, slow, and showing up with exactly zero improvments in his game of any kind.

you might as well say he is flying blind with only one wing.

I'm just pointing out that it's very possible for him to come off an injury and dominate, because he's already done it in the past. And he's been doing great this year. Sure, he lost to Zaballos, which was unexpected, but it was immediately after his return (first tourney back if I remember correctly, maybe second), and since then he's done amazing. You keep saying he got lucky at IW, but he freaking won the tournament. Whoever was on the other side of the net, he beat them. There's nothing else he can do. Del Po beat Djoker in straight sets. Then Rafa beat him. It's not Rafa's fault that Djoker couldn't beat Del Po. Nadal certainly could...

He is not fat or unfit. How about you actually watch some of his matches? He's running all over the court like usual. He's not slow either. As far as unprepared? What, losing to the world number one, but beating anyone else he's gone up against (since Zaballos) is unprepared? Dang. I'd hate to see how easily he wins everything if he came in prepared...

And you keep saying that he's made no improvements. In three threads where you said that, I pointed out specific improvements he's made. You've ignored them all three times. So I'm not even going to bother posting them again.

i have no doubt that nadal's best would easily beat djokovic's best on clay, like in 2012.......so i don't see where people get the idea that novak is the favourite for roland garros.........he is not even the second favourite if you ask me........

A bit funny you should say that, because I did ask you a couple of days ago and you had Djokovic as clear second favourite then.

I wouldn't read too much into this one result, so I have Djokovic as 2nd favourite for RG still. We now have basically a reversal of the Federer/Nadal relationship on HC/grass some years ago, with Nadal taking Fed's old role of basically being guaranteed to reach the final (or at least reach Djokovic). Djokovic is much less likely to reach the final (or Nadal) but will definitely cause problems for him if he does.

i have no doubt that nadal's best would easily beat djokovic's best on clay, like in 2012.......so i don't see where people get the idea that novak is the favourite for roland garros.........he is not even the second favourite if you ask me........

A bit funny you should say that, because I did ask you a couple of days ago and you had Djokovic as clear second favourite then.

I wouldn't read too much into this one result, so I have Djokovic as 2nd favourite for RG still. We now have basically a reversal of the Federer/Nadal relationship on HC/grass some years ago, with Nadal taking Fed's old role of basically being guaranteed to reach the final (or at least reach Djokovic). Djokovic is much less likely to reach the final (or Nadal) but will definitely cause problems for him if he does.

i was tempted to put federer as second favourite but just wanted to give world no.1 some respect.......apparently i was right about his mediocre movement on the surface........

anyway i don't think it really matters who the second favourite is........the singles title goes to nadal once again........

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

Shank, you are afraid again and I'm gonna challenge you and poke at you until you smarten up . Djokovic is the first favorite to win RG, Nadal second, you fool. now you have it

i am not afraid but angry at rafa for losing to a mediocre mover on clay, that too at montecarlo........rafa rightly paid the price........he chose indian wells over montecarlo and deserved to lose his most successful clay title.......

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

i have no doubt that nadal's best would easily beat djokovic's best on clay, like in 2012.......so i don't see where people get the idea that novak is the favourite for roland garros.........he is not even the second favourite if you ask me........

A bit funny you should say that, because I did ask you a couple of days ago and you had Djokovic as clear second favourite then.

I wouldn't read too much into this one result, so I have Djokovic as 2nd favourite for RG still. We now have basically a reversal of the Federer/Nadal relationship on HC/grass some years ago, with Nadal taking Fed's old role of basically being guaranteed to reach the final (or at least reach Djokovic). Djokovic is much less likely to reach the final (or Nadal) but will definitely cause problems for him if he does.

i was tempted to put federer as second favourite but just wanted to give world no.1 some respect.......apparently i was right about his mediocre movement on the surface........

anyway i don't think it really matters who the second favourite is........the singles title goes to nadal once again........

Shank, are you freaking kidding me? You are being silly. Fed is NOT second favorite (even retarded people know that), well maybe in your head because you are afraid of Nole. listen bud, I'm very intuitive, and I can read your mind . don't be stupid. get real.

i see what you mean but you got me wrong, alex........i am not fazed by these silly defeats which are a result of nadal's own undoing........

why would i be afraid of somebody who has never defeated nadal in a best of 5 sets tennis match on clay?

i think you are reading too much into montecarlo victory........it was combination of nadal messing with his schedule and the clay getting wet due to rain........that is the reason why novak won.......had the clay been dry and fast, he would have lost in straight sets like last year in montecarlo........

nadal is just an idiot who once in a while throws away a title because of his own undoing.......no nadal fan asked him to get us indian wells.......still he went there, camped, practiced and played on those hardcourts for a month........that was enough to destroy the momentum he built on clay in south america after returning from break.......

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Marian Vajda to Novak Djokovic, "I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before, and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU! Now we don't need no man like that in our lives."

i see what you mean but you got me wrong, alex........i am not fazed by these silly defeats which are a result of nadal's own undoing........

why would i be afraid of somebody who has never defeated nadal in a best of 5 sets tennis match on clay?

i think you are reading too much into montecarlo victory........it was combination of nadal messing with his schedule and the clay getting wet due to rain........that is the reason why novak won.......had the clay been dry and fast, he would have lost in straight sets like last year in montecarlo........

nadal is just an idiot who once in a while throws away a title because of his own undoing.......no nadal fan asked him to get us indian wells.......still he went there, camped, practiced and played on those hardcourts for a month........that was enough to destroy the momentum he built on clay in south america after returning from break.......

bud, RG is going to be all about Nole and Rafa. I actually couldn't care less about Madrid, many reasons I don't like that tournament.

nole is going to take everything general shanks if nadal continues to fart around with golf and poker.

he has done nothing since the end of 2010.

I have seen zero improvements in his game and now a dramatic decline in his fitness.

nole is not stupid. he sees this damn fool willing to end his career as soon as he can so he is taking advantage.

nadal basically doesn't want to fight anymore like he used to.

he is going to need some luck in rome and at RG this year.

It's hard for players to keep the level up.Fed, Djokovic and most players have been fighting since their youth and starting when little kids.

Djokovic battled breathing problems for so many years, he kept trying and didn't give up.He looked like he couldn't take that final step and it was much later than other past champions but now is finally reaping rewards.

Fed looked like he lost some drive for almost two years till Annacone arrived, he made a decision to press on.No one thought he'd get #1 again with Nadal playing well on all surfaces and then Djokovic hitting his peak too.This added to his legacy a great deal, no one expected Fed to overcome and fight his way back to #1, even his diehard fans were shocked.

Nole is still my favourite, if only his ankle is OK. Only the lack of fitness and mental capacity prevented guys like Dimitrov and Ferrer from winning Rafa but Nole has both the fitness and the mental capacity to beat Rafa. This is his tournament to lose.